Gill Nets Set In Chesapeake Bay Catch More Than Intended Shad

HAMPTON — As late as Thursday, there were approximately 50 gill nets set in Chesapeake Bay between the fishing pier at Grandview Beach and Fort Monroe, located at the mouth of Hampton Roads harbor.

Watermen put these nets off the beach to mark their turf so they will get a jump on their fellow watermen and to catch a few incidental early-season shad and trout. But these monofilament nets are really catching more striped bass and sea birds than shad or trout.

Within the last two weeks, just one of these watermen has dumped as much as 3,000 pounds of striped bass, called rockfish. Rumor says some watermen have dumped as much as 10,000 pounds. More than 90 percent of these rockfish are either dead or dying. And it's a scene that's being played out every time the wind blows.

In addition to the rockfish, hundreds of sea birds such as loons, ducks and cormorants are caught in the nets. Watermen will tell you that it isn't the monofilament webbing of the net that most often kills or injures these birds, but a waterman's knife.

"These birds twist and turn and become so entangled in the net, the only way to get their feet out is cut a few strands of webbing - which doesn't hurt the net - or cut off the bird's feet," said a fisherman who has witnessed the act many times but asked that his name not be used because he fears reprisals by the offenders.

Many watermen and sportsmen show that the problem with so many fish and birds being wasted centers around putting out gill nets when there is very little shad in the bay and when striped bass are readying to move into the rivers to spawn.

"Four years ago, we started catching large amounts of rockfish in our nets," said David C. Johnson, a Fox Hill waterman. "In previous years, we usually only caught two or three fish a year. Suddenly we're catching thousands which had to be turned loose.

"We threw away hundreds of dead, dying or scarred fish. During one particular blow (windy day), I had seven nets that had so many rockfish in them that the nets rolled up on the surface. The seagulls helped me pick my nets clean. What a waste.

"That happened during the second week of March and happens every year until the rockfish move up the rivers to spawn, around the middle of March.

"Can you imagine the number of rockfish dying each year throughout the state? I would think this spawning population of rockfish would be worth more to the Commonwealth than the very few shad that arrive before the middle of March."

Johnson and other watermen say the net is not the problem, but that it is the state's inability to set a specific season when the net can be used. The mesh size of a gill net dictates what size fish, or even what species, will be caught.

"The VMRC wants to limit fishermen to 3,000 yards of net," Johnson said. "Why have a limit at all? That's 9,000 feet or a mile and three quarters."

A waterman can place the nets one after another, and capture nearly every fish that swims through the area.

"I'm a firm believer that 2,000 yards or even less would be appropriate," Johnson said. "After all, isn't the Commonwealth's goal to increase the population of fish and bring back a dying resource? I don't see how they can do that without a decreased effort on the fisherman's part."

Johnson said the nets are usually put out early to catch a few shad, a fish that starts moving up the Virginia coast in late February and early March. This year has been an exception because of the early mild weather, which has also brought an unusually high number of trout with it.

Shad are usually caught in the Virginia Beach area first. A shad is a fish that is prized for it's roe (eggs), but the shad that come from the ocean have very little or no roe.

"It's not until several weeks later that the roe fills out, with the best quality in my area coming in the latter part of March," Johnson said.

Meanwhile, the ocean netters off Virginia Beach are permitted under current regulations to slaughter thousands of pounds of shad for a very small amount of money, Johnson said.

"The shad might bring them 10 cents a pound," he said. "Baitfish earn them more money."

Johnson's solution is to have limited entry fishing, meaning a set number of fishermen fishing a certain season.

"It's time Virginia considered a limited entry type of fishery. We're facing declining stocks of most types of fish in our waters. It's time the states got together and preserved the watermen's livelihood, and not just with rockfish and shad, but with all types of fishing."

There is a proposal before the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to open a one-month striped bass season in the fall, but the proposal needs the approval of the ASMFC.

Jack Travelstead, deputy commissioner of Virginia Marine Resources Commission, said the proposal will not go before the ASMFC until mid-March and, if approved, will go into public hearing in June or July.

VMRC had decided to wait another year before taking up the gill net issue, but has now decided to re-hear it on Feb. 27, 2 p.m., at its headquarters conference room, 2600 Washington Ave., Newport News.